


Grave filled with books

by FanFicReader01



Category: Poets of the Fall
Genre: AU, Supernatural - Freeform, Vampires, cheesy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 07:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11481552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicReader01/pseuds/FanFicReader01
Summary: Title is from Giles Corey's music





	Grave filled with books

My heart starts to beat faster as I go deeper into the tombs. Going back outside is not an option. Not in this cold weather with raging storms trying to skin you alive with needle sharp rain.

 When I enter the tomb I am surprised by its tidiness. It’s almost like someone or _something_ is still living here, keeping this place clean as can be.

 As a young vampire hunter, I assume it must be the vampire’s lair.

‘Great, Jari, you are now officially in the lion’s den’, I grunt to myself as I take out the cross and the garlic.

Next to that I have two stakes, a flashlight and one hammer as my only defence.

I curse being part of a family of vampire hunters. Why did I have to be a Salminen? I don’t even like violence and killing.

 

As I go deeper into this grave I get even more surprised.

There are different small “rooms” and one even resembles a small kitchen.

Something’s cooking but I don’t dare to look what’s inside of that pan. Remains of the vampire’s victim, I think with disgust as I move along.

Eventually I enter another part of the grave. It’s not as well-lit as the other “rooms” I’ve seen so far. This room actually lays in complete darkness.

It must be the vampire’s sleeping place, I guess.

 My breathing starts to become difficult as I feel a strange air hang around me. The realization that I’m going to meet – no, _kill_ \- a vampire for the first time, makes me feel tense. I wrap my fingers tighter around the cross now. It weighs heavy.

I let my flashlight scan the whole room. I spot the usual coffin. The whole room is empty beside that coffin and… tons of books. It’s almost like someone put a quarter of their library into this room.

Piles of old and dusty books but I also spot a few _fresh_ books of which the pages aren’t yellow and torn.

 I’m surprised to see the vampire’s lair filled with books instead of the bones and bloody cadavers of his human victims.

 I almost get emotional over this picture.

 

_My father and my uncle always told me to never show mercy. To never hesitate to kill a beast. Because that’s what vampires are: beasts. They pretend to be humans but they aren’t. They are ruthless bloodsucking killing machines, my parents told me._

_‘They do not show human emotions. They do not do as humans do!’_

_I always tried to believe them but I also knew that vampires_ used to be _humans before they “turned”._

_‘It’s their own choice to become mindless monsters. Don’t ever let them fool you or it might cost you your life!’, my father warned me._

 

I try to approach the closed coffin but my legs feel like rubber. I literally have to drag myself towards the funerary box. I inhale sharply before putting one hand on it.

 ‘Alright, Jari, you can do this. You’ve practiced this for years now.’ On dummies, you idiot. _This_ here is the real thing!

 ‘No mercy, no hostages’, I remind myself but my voice is shaky. Finally I remove the upper part of the coffin.

I expect to see a pale, bald, creepy looking monster with razor sharp fangs to attack me right on sight but it’s everything but that. Well, except from the pale face and the fangs.

 Inside lays indeed the vampire.

He has a pale, almost greyish appearance. His fangs glimmer but he looks anything but creepy or repulsive.

I almost deem him hauntingly beautiful.

I also expected to see a blood thirsty look.

 Instead this vampire looks… worried. Maybe even _afraid_. This unexpected sight leaves me flabbergasted.

The creature clutches onto a book and holds it in his embrace as if it’s a child or something.

He shudders and shivers. He is muttering to himself.

 

_My uncle once warned me about vampires pretending to be afraid so they can surprise their victim._

 

But when I look at this vampire, I see genuine fright. It makes me lower my flashlight together with the cross and the garlic.

I wonder if vampires can have nightmares too.

 ‘No, no. P- please, don’t take him from me! Oh, dear god, no. Please!’, the vampire sobs and now I see visible tears on his cheeks.

 The whole picture of it feels so absurd and strange.

I never thought this would be my very first encounter with a vampire.

I never thought one of the emotions I’d have when seeing a vampire in the flesh would be empathy.

 

Suddenly the vampire rises up from his coffin. I’m afraid he will attack me but out of shock, I drop my cross and garlic and the flashlight.

 I feel the strong arms of the vampire press against my back as he basically embraces me.

His head rests against my shoulder as he leans heavily against me.

 ‘Please, I beg of you… don’t hurt him. The boy m- means no harm’, the vampire cries. He still seems to be trapped in his own mind.

My voice fails me as I feel my heart beat incredibly fast.

 Finally the vampire regains his strength and we make eye-contact. His eyes used to be blue but there’s a red gloss over the former blue.

His eyes quickly scan me and I see him notice the fallen objects. He quickly lets go of me and I manage to stutter: ‘I- I won’t hur- hurt you. N- not anymore. I d- d- don’t even have the g- guts for it.’

I’m trembling all over my body right now, basically begging for my life.

 

 The vampire now falls back into his coffin filled with books and mutters: ‘I never planned to kill any uninvited person anymore. I’m passed that for a long, long time.’

 I hesitatingly gather my stuff and throw them into a corner of the dark room so the vampire knows I won’t harm him instead.

 ‘Y- you serious?’, I stammer.

The vampire nods. ‘Yes. And I see you have dropped your defences as well?’

 ‘Y- yes.’

‘Don’t be afraid, human. Please, I should be the one who’s afraid. I can still smell the garlic on you.’

 ‘I’m sorry f- for making bad assumptions’, I start to apologize but fall over my own words.

It makes the vampire chuckle. ‘Don’t be sorry. I guess I used to be like the “classical vampire” you vampire hunters grow up with. Killing people and all. Although I never liked to kill people for their blood. I tried to avoid that.’

 ‘Really?’, it sounds stupid when I ask. My whole life was built on prejudices regarding vampires I think bitterly.

 ‘I became a vampire against my will. You can call me Marko, by the way’, the vampire now introduces himself.

 ‘I knew it!’, I now exclaim. ‘I knew some people would turn into vampires without wanting it!’

Marko is my living proof, I think excited. Quickly I whisper: ‘I mean… what a shame. Eh, I am Jari Salminen.’

 I see Marko raise an eyebrow. ‘So you’re a descendant from the infamous vampire hunting clan?’

Ashamed I murmur a “yeah”.

 

 ‘Come sit next to me’, Marko pats into his coffin and with some hesitation I join him.

‘You can throw some books out, you know. Read them already’, Marko laughs when he sees I’m struggling getting into the coffin.

After I’ve settled in, I must admit it sits pretty comfortable.

 ‘Don’t be afraid. As I already told you, I won’t hurt you’, Marko wryly smiles.

‘Believe it or not, I never wanted to be a vampire hunter. I can’t see why people would take pride in killing other living beings.’

 ‘We’re monsters, Jari. We kill people’, Marko counters.

‘To survive!’, I stammer.

 ‘Most vampires can live on one whole human being for a whole year! We can even drink blood without killing or turning the victim! Anyway, “survival” doesn’t justify some vampires’ behaviour’, Marko grunts. There’s distaste in his voice. ‘Your parents are right most of the time though: vampires are monsters.’

 ‘Then why were you crying?’, I ask before I think twice.

Now Marko’s face saddens again. He lets his shoulders and head hang a bit.

 ‘I used to live together with someone. Guy used to be a mortal like you. We fell in love and he asked me to turn him into a vampire too so we could be together forever.’

 ‘That sounds like the ultimate commitment’, I dare to whisper.

‘Yeah. It kind of was. But it had bad consequences. We _did_ live happily together but he couldn’t get used to killing people. So I did it for him. One time, he went outside, though. To do it himself, you know? Instead of killing a human, he tried to rescue that human from danger’, Marko now sighs as he relives his memory.

 ‘That guy, he was always so kind. Even when I turned him, I thought he might change. I know I _changed_ a little. My morals became… different. Anyway, the hunters caught up on my lover. They didn’t see he only wanted to help another human being. They only saw that bloodthirsty monster that gets described in all books. So I tried to jump to the rescue but they caught me too. The vampire hunters gave us an ultimatum. They’d either kill him or me. I begged them to kill me instead but my friend insisted it would be him. He…’, Marko stops and sheds a few more tears.

 

 Before I know it, I’ve swung an arm around the vampire and pull him closer to me in a way of comforting him.

 ‘He told me he loved me but that he couldn’t live on like this anymore… The rest is just a long history’, Marko is able to continue his story. It leaves me speechless and sad as well.

 ‘After that, I’ve locked myself in here. I promised myself to never kill a human again. Guess I became a “vegetarian”, only drinking the blood of cattle and such.’ A slight chuckle escapes his throat.

 ‘Whoa… I-, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, Marko’, I murmur.

‘It’s alright. But yeah, I often have nightmares about that night.’

 

‘So, you never go outside anymore?’, I’ve joined Marko in his “kitchen”. In the pan he has made vegetable soup. No human blood whatsoever. He offers me some of it but I kindly refuse.

 ‘No. I guess you could say I’m just awaiting my death. I thought: if a vampire hunter stumbles upon my grave one day, they can have their way. Maybe you should just kill me after all, Jari! Then we both have what we want.’

 ‘What?! I never said I wanted to kill a vampire!’, I exclaim.

‘But then you would have your father’s approval!’, Marko counters as if he understands me.

 ‘My dad’s approval? My ass! Yes, I might’ve gone on a “journey” to hunt vampires but secretly I  wished I would just… not encounter them. But now I’ve found you: A depressed vampire!’

 ‘Sorry to disappoint you, kid’, Marko grumbles. ‘Sorry I’m not as blood thirsty as you expected me to be. Truth is: I’m just an old vampire, cursed with that promise of a “blissful” immortality.’

 ‘I won’t let you die like that’, I then snort. Marko seems surprised.

‘What do you mean with that?’

 ‘You look exhausted and on the brink of death’, I huff.

‘Maybe because that’s what I want?’, comes Marko’s flat reply. His eyes look fierce, they’re burning but behind that fire I still see his unfathomable sadness.

 ‘You’re just sad and heartbroken’, I dare to sate.

It makes Marko slump against his chair, his head in his hands and then he starts to cry again.

It actually breaks my heart. I’ve only been with this vampire for an hour or even less and he has affected me so much.

 I approach him carefully and put my arm on his back again.

‘It hurts me to see you like this, Marko. Is there really nothing else I can do besides giving you this so called “wanted death”?’, I ask him silently.

 ‘I don’t know anymore. You’ve seen those books?’

‘Those in your room?’

 ‘Yes. I’ve read all of them. Thrice already. Some even more, I lost count. I don’t know if there’s something worth living for. My lover’s dead. I can’t go into the sunlight again. There’s nothing left for me’, he sobs.

I sit in the opposite chair and let my fingers rub against my temple as I try to think of something suitable that would benefit both of us.

 ‘Marko, please let me help you. Previously you told me vampires are able to drink human blood without killing them?’

 ‘Yeah, what about it?’

‘You… You can have some of my blood to regain your strength. I want to help you. I, ehm… Let’s see… Give me a week to convince you. After that, I’ll leave you’, I suggest. One week should give me some breathing space to think about a good solution.

 Marko seems to have his doubts but eventually goes with it.

 

The vampire has shared some interesting facts about the previous centuries the history books failed to tell me.

Marko also likes to talk about his partner and it just makes me smile to see him like that: happy again.

He also tells me more about vampires in general.

 ‘So you’re saying the rumours about those vampire gangs are real?’, I stammer.

‘Yes. They’re the worst kind of vampire. They kill for the thrill. They just toy with their food-, I mean victims. Absolutely disgusting’, Marko huffs. Then he gives me a look and confesses: ‘Decades before I met my lover, I used to hunt some of them down, you know?’

 ‘Really?!’, I ask excited. I’ve never heard or read about vampires killing other vampires.

My family used to put all vampires into the same box, so to speak.  Once again, Marko proved me wrong about many aspects of the “vampire life”.

 

And while Marko tells me all about his wild adventures as a temporarily vampire hunter while being a vampire himself, I get an idea.

 ‘Marko’, I interrupt him.

‘What is it?’

 ‘I have an idea! It might sound stupid and even dangerous but what if we hunt together?’, I propose.

‘You mean us hunting the baddies?’, Marko guesses and I nod.

‘Yes! That way I might not feel bad for killing vampires. And then I get to  do some justice to my family name. And maybe it gives you a purpose in life again?’, I try.

Marko’s eyes turn into slits as he peers at me. ‘Maybe… Maybe you’re right. Now that I’m talking about my past and all, I gotta say I might’ve missed that adventure.’

I laugh. ‘So do we have a deal?’

 ‘Only if we travel at night and sleep during day’, Marko grins.

We give each other a handshake.

 ‘Fine by me. But I need to say this: I’m an absolute rookie in vampire hunting so I’m afraid you’ll have to save my sorry ass many times.’

‘I don’t mind’, Marko reassures with a chuckle. Then he adds: ‘Besides, I can train you, teach you some cool tricks. You know, Jari, you’re actual a nice human being. I think I’m starting to like you more and more!’, Marko expresses with a smile.

 ‘And you’re actual a nice vampire’, I grin.

 

And that’s the beginning of how I actually _did_ become a vampire hunter. And together with Marko I helped the world by cleansing it from the evil vampires who kill for a sport, who find utter joy in toying with humans’ lives like it’s nothing.

 

**

 

I’m standing on the edge of a rooftop. Marko stand next to me.

‘Be careful not to fall down’, he jokes.

I look down and stare at the massacre beneath us. I’m still breathless. I can hardly believe Marko and I just took on a whole café filled with vampires.

 ‘You know, Marko, we’ve been doing this a few years already’, I declare.

‘What about it? Are you getting tired?’, the vampire grins and I shake my head.

 ‘Quite the opposite. I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. You’ve changed me for the better’, I chuckle.

‘Same goes for you, Jari. If you didn’t stumble upon my grave, I might’ve died already’, Marko says.

 ‘But I was thinking about a change’, I try to sound mysteriously.

‘Don’t say…’, Marko’s eyes look worried as he tries to read the answer in my face.

 ‘Yeah, about that-’, I start but he cuts me off.

‘I’m _not_ making the same mistake again. Please, Jari, understand this but the last time I turned someone into a vampire it ended up badly’, Marko grunts. Then he places his hands on my shoulders, grips them tightly and says: ‘I care about you. I don’t want to lose you like that.’

 ‘I know, Marko. I was just kidding. Although being a vampire must be fun’, I snort.

‘Yeah, yeah. You don’t want to live forever, I promise you! Let’s get off this roof and have dinner.’

 

We’re driving back to the motel and I bring up the topic again.

‘I’m not doing it, Jari! No matter how much you beg!’

‘Alright. You’re right. How things are now, we have a better dynamic with me being able to operate during the day’, I murmur with my eyes closed. I peek and see Marko’s worried face.

 I give him a friendly push against his shoulder and say: ‘Aw c’mon, Marko! You know that I make awful jokes! If I really wanted to become a vampire, I would only do it to piss of my dad and whole family!’

 ‘Aren’t you doing that already? With me being your companion that is?’, Marko laughs.

‘Pretty much’, I cackle. ‘Ah, we’re at the motel! Time for me to eat a burger and you can have me afterwards.’

 ‘Really, your jokes are the worst!’, Marko groans before we step out and check in.


End file.
